asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will give details of the present national brucellosis testing scheme; if he will give the following details of the scheme in County Meath: (a) herds tested; (b) numbers of animals tested; (c) reactors and livestock still untested; and (d) the overall cost of the scheme for 1985 and 1986.
Written Answers. - Meath Brucellosis Testing Scheme.
183.
Testing for brucellosis involves the monitoring of all herds containing eligible animals, i.e. females of 12 months and over and bulls for breeding. In addition, a 30 day pre-movement test is necessary. The monitor is carried out through blood sampling and-or milk ring testing in the case of dairy herds.
Approximately 95,000 eligible animals in some 3,800 herds in County Meath were tested in the course of the 1985-86 round. Dairy herds have again been monitored since the end of that round and some 580 non-dairy herds remain to be tested. The number of brucellosis reactors identified in County Meath in 1985 and 1986 was nine and ten respectively.
For the country as a whole the brucellosis eradication scheme cost £5 million in 1985 and anticipated expenditure in 1986 is £4.25 million.